Chapter 730 Capturing the Infiltrator
As Daneel calmly watched the Heroes invisibly congregate around the house in which the infiltrator was resting as if everything was under his control, he couldn't help but smile proudly, because even though there had been some hiccups, everything had worked out quite well.
Because he was idly waiting for the action to begin, he listed all of the 'birds' that he had hit with his plan that could be said to be a single stone.
First, he had failed the test of the Church, removing their focus on him, and allowing himself more time to grow in power so that he could become someone they had to reckon with.
Second, the Mad Doctor was dead, and the revenge that had long been coming was finally fulfilled.
Third, he had taken his revenge against Bartholomew who had plotted against him, and even if he had been doing it on the orders of the Head, he had to be blamed for Daneel having to go through so much. He was severely injured, and although the healers who had been contacted by Rayen had said that there was a slim chance that he could die, he wasn't a Champion like the Mad Doctor who had received a similar extent of injuries. A full recovery was expected to be most probable, and after that, he would be tried in front of the High Council for treason.
Fourth… Was related to what one of the Heroes had just talked about. He wouldn't have been able to hear them if they hadn't talked aloud on purpose, in order to warn all those in the sect, and spread the information regarding what had happened. They had already isolated the Villa, so even though they did this, there was no chance that the one inside it could have any indication that he would soon face the wrath of Angaria.
True enough, as soon as his words echoed in the area, loud gossip began to be heard from all the people who had gathered around the Villa because of a secret announcement that had been made that if anyone wanted to see something interesting, they should come here.
People who were idle had chosen to come, and they didn't know that they were in for a treat.
All of this was planned in quick succession by the Head, whose reaction Daneel hadn't been able to see after he had been released from the formation. He knew that it must have been pretty fiery, because he had gathered from Rayeb that quite a few people had had to limp out of the vault because they had become the unfortunate targets of his anger.
This was either fake or real, but either way, his intelligence had once again been displayed by the steps that he had taken. Daneel had only laid everything in place, and his intention with the fourth 'bird' had mainly been that anyone who even thought of allying with the Church would hesitate and think twice, after remembering that those who did so might be targeted and killed just like Bartholomew had almost been.
To join any organisation, trust was most important, and his idea had been to target this so that all efforts of recruitment by the Church would be met with much more difficulty from now on. From Heroes to even Humans, he wanted everyone to shake in their boots, and decide that it was better to stay with their home continent and hope for the best, instead of going over to meet certain death.
Even though this might eventually be overcome, for the moment, it would definitely stop a lot of active attempts which were definitely underway in the shadows, and it had all been beautifully achieved by Daneel's instructions to Rayen to give that fake account of what had happened during the fight.
They had even gone to great lengths to simulate a battle between an empowered Peak Champion like Ashahell and the Hero who had been weakened by some manner, which could be attributed to the mysterious methods of the church, and of course, this had only been possible because Daneel had witnessed that fight before between Ashahell and the Mad Doctor.
It seemed as if he had slowly collected all the parts to be able to implement this plan, and to anyone who was looking at it from the outside, it would seem pretty damn fool proof.
And of course, the fifth 'bird'… Was to target this damn infiltrator who had done everything and was calmly resting as if he was the master puppeteer.
Just this thought itself made Daneel want to laugh, but he controlled that and waited for the battle that would soon take place.
He could just imagine it. It was like a spider which had spun a small web around it to trap its prey, but what it didn't know was that it was already trapped within an even larger one that it couldn't even see. In its limited vision, it would seem as if it was the apex predator, whereas in reality, it was the prey.
Just as Daneel thought, inside the Villa, the man was calmly talking to the two maids who already had expressions of extreme devotion on their faces.
Ever since he had given them the books, they had been reading them non-stop mainly due to the almost addictive sensation that this gave, and this was another idea that had been implemented by the new bishop who was also the one behind that incredible substance that he and the other individual from the Church had almost fought over after he arrived here.
It was a recent modification, but it was doing wonders, and it had been displayed once again because the two maids were now thoroughly convinced that the continent of Angaria was too far gone, and that a purge was the only thing that could save it and put it back on track.
As for his thoughts on the mission, although it was slightly unsatisfactory that the King hadn't died, his story was pretty much closed.
The Divine Cockroach was a Godbeast that was also present on the Mainland, and because Bloodlines were so much more common there, all those with this trash bloodline were labelled as garbage who couldn't even train too far as Mages because this bloodline sapped their potential away.
It was a curious interaction, and it was almost as if it was to counter the extreme durability of the Divine Cockroach. After all, one who could not be harmed and killed by even those a few levels above them, and one who was also capable of beating down those people would be a bit too overpowered, so balance was achieved in this way.
However, what use was it to just defend, and never even strive to strike back? On the Mainland, those with the Divine Cockroach Bloodline were not even considered as threats, and the method to deal with them was simply to lock them up using specialized cages, almost as if they were just animals, and deprive them of all Energy and food so that they would just starve to death. Even the occupations that they could pursue only included those of simple guards and punching bags for training, and except for a select few who broke the rules that controlled them, all others were almost considered to be worthless, especially to a powerful organization like the Church.
After the invasion, the King would also simply be subjected to this, and the man looked forward to that sight. In fact, he had already decided that he would definitely take a bunch of the King's strongest supporters, along with his subordinates, and make them watch forcefully as the man they believed in so much screamed with hunger and died a slow, agonizing death, so that he could break them completely and either kill them or turn them to the Church. It was said that in these cages, when hunger was driven to the extreme, it was possible that those trapped would even begin eating parts of their own bodies, and there was definitely no better way to completely erase all respect for anyone than to show them that image.
The main reason behind him infiltrating the Sect of Hedon had been to enable this test, and now that it was done, he prepared to exit as it wasn't too safe, and because it wasn't really necessary for him to tax himself so by having a considerable part of his consciousness separated so that he could control this body discreetly. Also, things might be pretty heated for a while, so it was best to just evacuate.
He would soon leave after erasing all of the traces of his stay here, and just out of habit, he checked on all the important places in the sect, and the exterior of his villa.
Everything looked normal. Well, at least as normal as it could be, after the revelation that one of the Heroes had somehow bypassed the oath and allied with the Church to allow the Mad Doctor to attack the King of Lanthanor.
There were a few Heroes in the headquarters, scurrying around as if looking for proof, and as for outside the villa, there were a few people normally passing.
Yet, suddenly feeling a prick in his mind which was always a sign that something was wrong, the man looked closer.
He had actually placed multiple formations to ensure his own safety, but he hadn't activated them all as they would stand out if a Hero was looking.
It was fine if they were used occasionally and briefly, so he proceeded to do that. Activating the formation that would measure the minute gravity variations in the area to count how many people were standing on the ground, he switched it off instantly, while his eyes had widened with shock.
What he was seeing was fake! There were actually at least 100 people outside!
And if that was fake, then….
BOOM!
At the same moment as this realisation struck him, a loud sound accompanied by various shouts of anger reached his ears, as he saw the entire villa crumble around him along with all the barriers he had placed.
He hadn't been able to use barriers that were too strong, because they would stand out like a sore thumb and attract the attention of the Heroes, and his main method to stay discrete was to keep his identity a secret. He had gone to great pains to make sure that each and everyone who knew of him had been accounted for, but clearly… He hadn't been thorough enough.
Not even a fraction of a second later, a yellow coloured dome formed around him, and the two maids were separated and flown away to a different location.
There were four Heroes in front of him, and they were the ones who had done this. They had clearly been setting this up for a long time and had taken great pains to make sure that he wouldn't see anything, as they seemed to have expended a lot of resources both to ensure that they would be able to break the barriers instantly, and that he would have no option but to stay where he was, defenceless.
It wasn't even like he could put up that much of a defence, because he was simply in the body of a Warrior level mage. Even if he could cast a Hero level spell by forcefully pushing the Mageroot of the one he was inhabiting, there was no way that that would have made any difference, and even though the Heroes seemed to know this, they looked like they had just wanted to be safe.
How… The hell had this even happened?
Hadn't everything been under his control? Hadn't he just been laughing to himself the other day that he was a master manipulator who had taken care of everything, and would simply just sit back and watch as the mayhem unfolded? Where had he gone wrong?
The only slightly loose end was Percy, but he had checked on him, too. After all, he was back in the sect, and he had been able to continuously monitor him and make sure that he wouldn't speak about his identity to anyone.
Well, whatever the reason was, he could find it out slowly, as the priority right now was to forcefully detonate his consciousness to make sure that it wouldn't land in the hands of these savages who might torture it endlessly to gain some information.
Right as he was about to do so, though, one of the four Heroes stepped forward, and he instantly felt himself losing control of his own consciousness as it was being lulled to sleep.
"The… The bloodline of the Resplendent Nightingale! But how?! Almost all of your Bloodlines are supposed to be lost!"
As soon as he asked this question, the Head, himself, appeared in front of him out of nowhere.
His face was livid, and his usually refined demeanour was gone.
With a smile that was almost like a snarl of anger, he spit out, "There is much you think you know about us which is false. Sleep well. The next time we meet, it will be in the torture chamber. You really thought you could fool us all if you made Ashahell escape and then calmly put him back as if nothing had ever happened? You were wrong. Your man didn't do his job perfectly, and that's why you are in our grasp."
Seeing the expression of the man from the Church who looked like a thunderbolt had hit him suddenly, everyone thought that it was because of the revelation that this was how he had been captured.
Yet… If they knew of the question that was repeatedly running through his mind, they would definitely have been very surprised.
Indeed, completely unable to understand what in the blazes was going on, the man from the Church was frantically asking the same question over and over again, even though there seemed to be no answer in sight.
"'Making Ashahell escape'? 'Job'? 'Putting him back'? What the f*ck are you all even talking about?"
Alas, before he could satiate his burning curiosity, he was forcefully put to sleep by the silent song that was playing which could only be heard by him, but even after he fell asleep, the expression of agitated confusion remained, as if it had become permanently fixed on his face.